24-Carat Duality

Tegan and Sara, The Cockpit, Leeds, Wednesday August 15 2007, 8pm.
Tegan and Sara, Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton, Monday February 25 2008, 8pm.

Well, this is a first. As your calm correspondent is patiently waiting at the merch stand in the Wulfrun to get a view of bright, colourful, fun support band Northern State's CD, a young female audience member points at me and cries out aghast, 'Oh MY GOD! Is that a MAN?!'. Last time we looked, ma'am, last time we looked. And last time we checked, lesbianism was a sexual orientation and not an exclusive musical genre, with sapphic siblings Tegan and Sara's tunes surely too good to stay locked in a clique? It's a situation perhaps uncomfortable for band and fans alike as they move to bigger venues and more curious crowds, with Sara making comments that the sound of male fans calling for their songs was kinda scary.

Contrast this with their show at Leeds six month earlier, a gig for which we didn't get time to post a review of at the time. Supported by a singer-songwriter wearing a Captain America shield they seemed much more relaxed with a more obviously out crowd at a smaller venue sold-out on internet sales alone, playing with audience expectations by stating loud and proud how much they loved cock (by way of rebuke to an asinine comment in an NME review) even though their sapphic supporters seemed much less sure when asked to express their own attitudes toward the male genitalia. It seemed at the time an inclusive move of acceptance to a wider, more polysexual fanbase, so it's sad to report signs of a possible regression in attitude during the intervening period. Particularly as the songs are still good, and many of them rock hard live, '19' 'Dark Come Soon' and 'Like O Like h' from latest album 'The Con' particularly burning bright on the night.